According to UNHCR's source, statelessness occurs when an individual is not recognized as a citizen by any country, including the country where they and perhaps generations of their family were born. In short, stateless people are not part of any nationality due to circumstances of birth and national laws.
Stateless people are extremely vulnerable, as they cannot access basic needs, including but not limited to jobs, education, healthcare, and legal rights. This situation often leads to poverty. To secure these essentials, individuals must have nationality to ensure their rights.
Despite the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) stating that "Everyone has the right to nationality," and recognition of this principle by over 100 countries, many states still do not fully follow it. Alarmingly, approximately 4.4 million people worldwide remain without recognized nationality, with an estimated 10 million stateless individuals underreported.
Tackling the Issue
Addressing statelessness requires extensive advocacy and political will.
Non-Discriminatory Nationality Laws: Some countries have nationality laws that prevent certain groups---based on ethnicity, religion, or gender---from receiving citizenship, which leads to statelessness. For example, in some countries, a mother cannot automatically pass her nationality to her child, particularly if the father is stateless. This denies the child any chance of obtaining nationality through their parents.
Fixed-Term Citizenship: This policy allows stateless people to gain nationality after residing in a country for a certain period, such as a minimum of 10 years. This approach reduces statelessness by helping individuals integrate and build relationships within the local community.
Building a Legal Framework through International Cooperation: Creating a legal basis to uphold stateless people's basic rights encourages countries to follow international law. The 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness are two important examples of this framework.
Raising Awareness through Global Action: Advocacy is crucial to reducing statelessness. UNHCR's global campaign, #IBelong, has helped grant citizenship to over half a million people, increased access to the 1954 and 1961 Conventions, and improved national laws addressing statelessness.
Additionally, we must recognize UNHCR's essential role in addressing statelessness, alongside the efforts of global society. It's crucial to understand the root causes of statelessness to resolve the issue.